Cleaner system



Jairi. s, 1935.

A. S. MACKENZIE CLEANER SYSTEM Filed Dec. 28, 1931 Patented Jan. 8, 1935 I 1 UNl-TED STATES PATENT o Fic CLEANER SYSTEM Alexander S. Mackenzie, Houston, Tex, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Elk City Cotton-r. Oil Company, a corporation of Oklahoma Application December 28, 1931,.Serial No. 583,528 1 8 Claims. (01. 19-67) Thepresent invention: relates. to acotton cleanconveyor 11-- will nothave been cleaned, as distiningcsystenrarranged todeliver the cotton in conguished: from prior practice where such cotton tinuous and: regulated: amounts to the gin; In was passed through the cleaning instrumentality this respect, it is an improvement upon the conto the: gin and collected as an overflowfrom the '6 structionzshowm my'pending app1ication,,Segin-.= I v rial No; 555,602.; filed. August 6, 1931, Thepresent invention.-contemplates-aconstruc- 'Ilhe:primary object of this invention is to-prov tion wherein the cotton will be passed from the vide an arrangementofcleanershavingcommunidropper to a feeding instrumentality in the Cation withzeachr other and selective means: for form ofopposed: rolls or cylinders 13- disposed 10 presentingithecottomto:each cleaning instrumenin the box or chute 11,, from whence it will be 10 talityor'onetor'more of them; distributed; toithe. particular cleaning instrumeniTheiinvention seeks ta provide avery compact talities togive it the treatment which: its condiconstruction which will taker'up but. little space tionwarrants. I 1

and constitutes aunit having".v ample; capacity" to At 1.41 haveindicated a chute or passage which 15 handle afulhbattery ofginsleads to the gin.

*it further: objectof" the invention: is: to provide At 15 I-havedndicated.apre-cleaner and at 16 as one' ofthe1=cleaningrinstrumentalities'a. cona cotton boil or hull extractor" mechanism. At struction. comprising: a cleaning, conveyor which 17- there is indicated the after cleaner and at 18 moves overa..trough' having: the formrof a grid. I-haveindicated a new'type of cleaning mecha- 0 Such ai-construction; I1 have;found;rin the case'of nism which willrbe more in detailv set-forth.

cotton which is=heavilyfladen witha'dirt, trash and Positioned in. the box 11. is a suitable gate: or debris too-be of espeoial'valuez valvev 19.1 This gate19*cooperates-in theposition In: the drawing; I. have indicated a: single showniwitha; gate 20 torpassthe'cottonv through view the preferred constituctiomofimy invention; aehute or passage 2L to the after. cleaner-17 The numeral 10 indicates the usual; dropper iBY'lIlOViIlgTthB gater20 at the-mouth'ofthe pas 25 comprising a suction separator with a rotary sage 14-to the limitOf itsimovement totheright, screenor cylinderrotating: iniasuitable casing, it. will be clear that: there will'beprovideda-pastheinteriorofwhich'screenisconnected by-aduct way-directi g the cotton from the feeder with a su'itable suctionafan: This: construction is .13 directly intolthe chute 14.- and thus to the gin.

all d'escribediin my aforesaidiapplication. By moving thegate'19. to the limit of its'movev30 The seed cotton is introduced into* the casing ment to, the left, the'cotton: will be directed to througha suitable'inlet; andrbet'ween'the' outlet he p Br-l5w of the separator and the pointito which.the.-:said This: pr l n rtw l ii cotton-is delivered. to thegin feedinglmeans; there Posed: a ve he sever l Cleaning st umentaliisi'arrangedithe cleaning;mechanism10fjthi$ m- :ties 1-.7i-and 18"and extractor 16 and comprises-a '35 vention. a i r v casing having: disposed thereinrthe cylinders or Inofder to-control'ideflnitelythe amountofsaid Screens 5 wh h ar a a inv p a ycotton passing throughzthe' cleaning-means; there tending planes d operatewversa" Sflreen d is positioned: in: the chutes-a 1 1:. leading from: the liveri g the trashv intothe' chamber 24: where: it

40 dropperq'a;rscrewiiconveyof12; whichjextend$ across will'be collected and delivere d from the machine 40 the'chute-ior'box: 1'1 andziworksalini.ao'trouglrexe y th 'c nv yo v V f tending to the end oil thtxgih: battery;v This The cylinders 22 moving. over the screens-23 n t' t o t tg o flm imy; aforesaid applica- Serve to relieve the cotton from much of -i-ts-free ti'on; and it willbe understoodithatv whenbox 11' and more finely divided particles, dependingupon has filled up to-eonveyorlz; the surplus'will'be themeshaof-rthe screen23;andattheupper orlast 45 ca'ridby said conveyor-through the trough and cyl thepretcleaned' 001717011 m i c e diseharged outside of"apparatus uponthe floor or liv redto the cleaner 18'and extractorv 1601? diother suitable-support,- where; throughxthe met VtOthe-after c18aner'17. Itwillrbev observed dium of a, suctio pipe 11; will b r t r d t th that the cylinder 22; delivers the. cleaned' cotton 'separator' casing; The advantage 'ofthis, of to w passage 26 Whichwommllnicatedwith t 50" course, isthat the cotton will befed'in definite, passagesilzl and i Q ntrela continuous; and regulated amounts, and at th tion, the passage 2'7 leadingto-theafter cleaner 'sam'e time; there is prevented the heretofore ind the other leading tothe cleaner 18 and exeflfcient practice of-overcleaningthe cotton; that actor 16.- i

is; the cotton which-- hasoverflowed from the Controlling; therdelivery-of cotton from-"the .5

passage 26 is a valve 29 which in the position shown directs the cotton to the cleaning instrumentalities 16 and 18 and which, when turned to the right at the limit of its movement, will direct the cotton to the passage 27,

The passages 21 and 27 converge into a suitable chamber 30 as shown.

When theeotton is delivered from the chamber 26 to the cleaning instrumentality 18, it is presumed to be so full of debris, trash, and bolls and hulls as to require the treatment of all four of the instrumentalities.

The cleaner 18 comprises a casing 31 within which is disposed a substantially horizontal spiral conveyor 32 moving ina curved oriarcuate trough 33. "This trough 33 comprises a plurality of substantially equally spaced longitudinally extending grids which may be in the form of rods, bars, or

pipes and which serve to effectively separate muchof the larger trash particles and dbrisfrom the cotton. Disposed below the grid 33 is a suitable conveyor 34 for delivering such trash from the machine.

The conveyor 32 delivers at one end into a chute or passageway 35 which communicates with one end of a feeding conveyor 36 of the extractor 16. In this connection, it will be observed that the conveyors 32 and 36 are in substantially parallel relation and that by having theexit end of the conveyor 32 communicate with the inlet end of the conveyor 36, little or no space is lost and I am enabled to present the extractor mechanism not only below the cleaner 18,-but position bothinstrumentalities below the pre-cleaner 15.

The extractor 16 comprises the rotating comb 37, a breaker roll 38 and a stripper roll 39. The stripper roll 39 usually comprising a plurality of brushing devices, withdraws the cotton from the comb-37 and delivers it to the passage 40 leading tothe after cleaner 17. It will be observed that the chamber 30 and the passage 40 are in divergent relation and a valve 41 has one position at the base of the chamber 30 whence cotton delivered by the stripper roll 39 will be passed directly into the after cleaner 17 On the other hand,'when the valve 41 is moved to the right to the limit of its movement, it will cooperate thus with the valve 20 and valve 19, whereby cotton will be delivered from the feeding means through the passage 21, chamber30, into the passage 40 and to the after cleaner.

When the valve 19 is at the limit of its movementto'the left and the valve 29 is at the limit ofits movement to the right, the cotton will pass to the pre-cleanerand then to the after cleaner.

It'will thus be seen that by reason of the valve arrangement, the cotton may be originally presented directly to the gin, to the after cleaner alone, to the pro-cleaner and after cleaner; or, in the case of cotton which requires a treatment b'y'all of the instrumentalities, the valves may be arranged to pass the cotton through each of them.

The after cleaner l'Tcomprises a casing wherein is" disposed a plurality of horizontally arranged foraminous cylinders 42in upward planes and which move over screens 43 whereby the loose particles are effectively removed from the cotton. The dbris' so screened passes to a conveyor, not shown,at the base'of the chamber 44 whence it isdelivered from the machine. The uppermost roll 42 delivers the cotton into the chamber 45, whence it may be carried to the gin.

' It win beunderstood' thatthe vari us y inders and rolls herein referred to as well as the conveyors all extend in a horizontal direction. By reason of the arrangement disclosed, I am enabled to obtain the selective cleaning such as the condition of the seed cotton warrants without use of any complicated or delicate mechanism such as would prove an obstacle where unskilled labor is utilized.'@

It willbe observed, moreover,that in the precleaner the cottondelivers upwardly and that this instrumentality is disposed to deliver the precleaned cotton in a position where it may be directed to either of the subsequent treating instrumentalities.

By. disposing the pre-cleaner substantially between the extractor and after cleaner, I am enabled to utilize. a single chamber 30 and valve 41 to'accomplish the selective treating described.

The present construction operates with great facility in connection with my regulating means,

namely the conveyor 12, and as stated, that prevents the ineflicient result heretofore obtained in practice of overcleaning or double cleaning the cotton. I

The various valves indicated herein are prefer ably pivoted upon the respective casings and are operated by one or more control levers disposed within convenient reach of theoperator. It will be understood that the passagesamay be of various sizes and where, of course;a large ing, although I believe it more convenient to construct the machine with the several instrumentalities separable so 'that their inlet and discharge passages needisimply. beconnected together at the time of installation. i r

The invention may partake 01' various cations, all of which I consider as comprehended within the following claims;

1. A cotton cleaning construction comprising a separator, a feedena precleaner communicatin with said feedenan aftercleaner communicatin with said feeder, said precleaner and aftercleaner having means permitting communication between 'the two, an extractor having its inlet communicating with said precleaner and its outlet communicating with said aftercleaner, and a cleaning 3. A cotton cleaning system comprising a feeder, a precleaner, an aftercleaner and. an extractor'communicating with said precleaner and aftercleaner, said precleaner having direct com- 7 munication with said aftercleaner and said feeder also having direct communication with said aftercleaner.

4. A cotton cleaning system comprising a .feeder, a precleaner, an aftercleaner, and anexcleaner and aftercleaner, and means for directing the cotton directly to said aftercleaner or directly to the gin.

5. A cotton cleaning system comprising a feeder, a pre-cleaner, an after-cleaner, an extractor, and an intermediate cleaner between the pre-cleaner and the extractor, said pro-cleaner and said after-cleaner being selectively in direct communication with said feeder, and said intermediate cleaner and extractor being in communication with said pre-cleaner and said aftercleaner, respectively.

6. A cotton cleaning system comprising a feeder, a pre-cleaner communicating directly with said feeder, an after-cleaner communicating directly with said feeder, said pre-cleaner and after-cleaner having means permitting communication between the two, and an extractor having its inlet communicating with said pre-cleaner and its outlet communicating with said after-cleaner.

7. A cotton cleaning system comprising a between said pre-cleaner, extractor and said" after-cleaner, and passages extending downwardly from said feeder and pre-cleaner and converging at the entrance to said after-cleaner, whereby the after-cleaner is in direct communication with both the feeder and. pre-cleaner.

8. A cotton cleaner construction comprising a feeder, a precleaner communicating with said feeder, an aftercleaner communicating with said feeder, said preclea-ner and aftercleaner having means permitting communication between the two, an extractor having its inlet communicating with said precleaner and its outlet communicating with said aftercleaner, and an intermediate cleaning instrumentality disposed in a passage communicating with the outlet of said precleaner and the inlet of said extractor.

ALEXANDER S. MACKENZIE. 

